President Kenyatta with Angola’s leader Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. Photo/PSCU
LUANDA, Angola, Jan 16 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged Kenyans to shun petty politics and emulate countries like Angola in development.
He said the day the people of Angola decided peace and unity were essential in their country, they managed to utilize their resources to make it one of the emerging economic giants in the continent despite being embroiled in civil strife for many years.
“That is why I keep on saying that if we, on the African continent, can really work together and understand that what is important is the welfare of our people and not the little differences that we have, there is a lot that we can achieve,” the President said.
The President was addressing the press shortly before he departed Luanda in Angola for Nairobi. He had been in Angola for the 5th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
President Kenyatta observed that Angola is a good example of a country that managed to overcome many challenges to become one of the greatest economies not just in the African continent but in the world in terms of growth.
“The last statistics of the World Bank show that Angola has an economy that is ready to grow at approximately 8 per cent per year. And that is what I keep saying in Kenya we should emulate,” President Kenyatta said.
On South Sudan, the President said Kenya has been and will continue to consolidate support for an end to the conflict in the Africa’s youngest nation.
“We have not only been encouraging support for South Sudan but also for the South Sudanese themselves to recognise that they need to work together and understand that violence is not a solution,” the President said.
Noting that the people of South Sudan worked hard for their independence, the President said they now need to pull together and build institutions that are necessary in sustaining peace and bringing prosperity.
“This is really the push that we, in Kenya, have and we are willing to support them in that endeavor,” he said.
He said it was important for South Sudan to recognise that independence is not just the word ‘freedom’ but also the commitment to ensure security, safety and prosperity of the citizens.
The Head of State also condemned the recent attempts to topple the democratically elected government in DRC. He said democratic institutions mean that the will of the people must be accepted.
“If the people of DRC have acknowledged that they have elected a government, we in the Great Lakes region must work together to ensure all the negative forces are removed,” the President said.
He said the wave of integration sweeping across the African continent is intended to free its people from the shackles of poverty by creating opportunities for its young men and women.
“Prosperity of our continent is what we must focus on because by reducing poverty, I believe we will be able to deal with a lot of the conflicts that we have experienced,” President Kenyatta said.
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